Yes, the ‘Fed’ should be audited
Christopher Tremoglie
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The government has a spending problem. This isn’t exactly breaking news or a shocking revelation, but nevertheless, it is true.
Part of this problem includes the nation’s Federal Reserve, which seems to have limitless powers regarding the country’s economic issues without any answerability. This consists of a lack of transparency by the “Fed,” which has the ability to hide critical information from Congress, as a press release highlighted. As a result, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) forced a vote to “Audit the Fed” earlier this week with hopes of bringing some accountability to it.
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“The Federal Reserve effectively controls the economy, but without scrutiny. No other institution has so much unchecked power. The Fed demonstrated its unlimited authority during the pandemic,” Paul said. “The Fed printed money, purchased government-backed securities, and doled out massive amounts of money to favored industries. The result added almost $5 trillion to the Fed’s balance sheet, the largest in our history.”
This should be something that both Republicans and Democrats in Congress should support. The nation’s politicians should want to know what exactly the Federal Reserve is doing with the nation’s finances, especially since its actions resulted in the largest addition to “the Fed’s balance sheet” in the country’s existence. This would not seem to be a partisan or ideological issue. Auditing the “Fed” is just good, fiscally sound policy, and it’s not hyperbole to say that Paul’s amendment would better our country. Everyone should support his initiative and follow his lead.
“When Dodd-Frank ordered a limited one-time audit of Fed actions, the Government Accountability Office uncovered that during the financial crisis, the Fed doled out over $16 trillion to domestic and foreign banks,” Paul said. “This kind of inflationary bailout should not be kept secret from the public. While the Fed’s easy money policies make the rich richer, the side effect is high inflation.”
Spending over “$16 trillion to domestic and foreign banks” and having the ability to hide this from the public effectively legally should be considered a gross misuse and abuse of power. The “Fed” is a dangerous bureaucracy that is out of control. Paul knows this and wants to prevent it from happening again. It’s further proof that Paul’s amendment is needed now more than ever.
Unfortunately, Paul’s legislation did not pass, as 51 senators voted against it, compared to only 46 senators who supported it. Of those senators against it, two were Republicans, Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Mike Rounds (R-SD). Inexplicably, Republican Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) did not vote on this crucial issue.
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“My amendment would require a full audit of the Fed within one year. It is time for the Federal Reserve to operate in a manner that is transparent and accountable to the taxpayers,” Paul said.
It’s obvious that the Federal Reserve should be audited, and it’s concerning that the Senate didn’t think so. Its rejection of Paul’s legislation raises the question: what exactly do 51 of our nation’s senators not want the country’s taxpayers to see?